Hunter Biden, his uncle James Biden, and two of their former business allies, Devon Archer and Eric Schwerin, were handed grand jury subpoenas in May 2019 over their dealings with partners in China, the New York Post reported, citing federal documents obtained by the Marco Polo non-profit.
According to the documents, the subpoena filed by Delaware US Attorney David Weiss targeted the financial ties of the four with the Bank of China. The subpoena also asked the bank JP Morgan Chase to provide information about any international financial transactions of the four over the past five years.
Probe Amid Democratic Primaries
The reported subpoena was filed just a month after Joe Biden, Hunter's father, joined the race for the presidency by entering the Democratic primaries. Furthermore, the subpoena came approximately a month after Hunter Biden allegedly dropped off the notorious "laptop from hell" at a Delaware repair shop.
Data recovered from the hard drive of the laptop, which was never picked up, landed in the hands of the FBI and the press. Numerous publications and tell-all books based on the data from the drive alleged that Hunter Biden had engaged in murky business deals with Chinese businesses tied to China's Communist Party. The emails from the laptop also vaguely hinted that Joe Biden might have been involved in his son's business affairs in Ukraine and possibly China as well.
While it is unclear whether the FBI ever used the information from the drive, Hunter Biden himself revealed in April 2021 that he was the subject of a federal investigation over possible tax fraud. He insisted that it was the first time he had heard about being looked into by the authorities over the matter.
"I learned yesterday for the first time that the US Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs [...] I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors".
Hunter did not elaborate on the details of the investigation, while several media reports at the time also alleged that it could be tied to his business dealings in China. The president's son insisted he was innocent and said he wouldn't be striking a plea deal. Joe Biden also expressed confidence that his son did nothing wrong.